Community Meals

Our fleet of HopeMobiles deliver much much more than nutritious meals. Through welcoming service and good conversation we feed hearts, minds and tummies.

Good nutrition can solve an array of health problems people would otherwise be experiencing. This means there is less strain on our public health services and ultimately our collective tax dollars. These savings can then be channelled into enhancing current services or new and innovative projects.

Every year we serve more than 24,000 hot and healthy meals.

Our food van service has broken away from the old model of serving down to people from an elevated position.

All our meals are held in parks and other off road spaces where diners can enjoy their time in a treed and green environment. Our food van service is more like a picnic than a soup van. At our meals, volunteers serve food from tables and greet diners while they choose the kind of meal they want from a smorgasbord of healthy options. Diners sit at tables that we have set up in the park with ample elbow room so they can share a relaxed meal with others and socialise. We have outreach workers who sit, share a meal and engage with diners. Most of our volunteers eventually become outreach workers as clients and volunteers become familiar with each other and strike up conversations. Some diners don't get out, socialise or interact with other people at all except at community meals. Diners also take away fresh fruit and veg, bread, cakes and meals in containers.

Good nutrition can improve physical and mental health. That's why we serve an array of veggies and salads with our meals. We believe that healthy individuals make for a healthy community. It might seem obvious but this bigger picture can sometimes be overlooked.

Our style of community meal caters for the physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of the homeless, the lonely, pensioners, people on low income and other members of the community who just want to share a meal and socialise. If we believe we are one big Australian community, then our service caters for the wellbeing of the whole community.